


Boy With the Bright Umbrella

by SailingChariot



Series: Free! Rare Pairs Week 2015 [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Free! Rare Pairs Week, M/M, SouRei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 17:56:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3456464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailingChariot/pseuds/SailingChariot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Certain things remain in people's minds and will not leave until confronted. Sousuke experienced this once he saw the boy with the bright umbrella. He couldn't help but think about the person, wonder what was it they wanted before they walked away, and hope he would see them again. But little did he know, the umbrella boy has been there all along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boy With the Bright Umbrella

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3 - Confession  
> Sousuke/Rei
> 
> Written for Fallen-Lucifiel on Tumblr.

A sigh escaped Sousuke’s lips as he looked out the window of the cafe. Since it was the rainy season, he should have expected the rain to fall sooner or later that day, but, alas, he believed he would have been able to leave before a single drop fell. Shaking his head, he looked back to the paper cup in his hand before raising it to take a sip of the hot coffee.

Classes had been hard for the young male. And with him not following his past dream of swimming for the gold, he found himself with a “I’m just doing this for now” attitude. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for him -- considering he was already in his second year -- but he couldn’t deny it was saddening to a degree.

Another few sips and he placed the cup down to pick up his phone instead. Distracted by typing a message to his childhood friend, he almost didn’t hear the distinct “ahem” that came from only a few inches away from him. Just as he looked up, he saw the person standing near him had already turned and walked away. Raising an eyebrow, Sousuke examined the person before brushing it off.

“Who was that?” He mumbled to himself, picking up his cup to finish the remains of his drink. However, as he did so, he couldn’t help but think of the bright umbrella the person was holding. Who wouldn’t think about it after seeing it’s bright purple and blue colors, though? It was a thought that Sousuke figured would come and go.

...And yet, it didn’t.

A week passed since the incident with the person at the cafe. Every day within that week, Sousuke had visited the cafe in hopes of seeing the person. Why? He wasn’t too sure. Part of him was convinced it was to see why that person tried speaking to him. Another part of him was convinced it was because he wanted to see the face of this blue haired, umbrella-holding stranger. And then there was the last part of him which developed from when he told his friend, Rin, about the situation. The part that thinks maybe he missed his chance at something.

Thursday afternoon, Sousuke looked at the cafe as he made his way to the campus library. He wondered if he should buy himself something to drink before having to do his research, but he knew it was just an excuse to check and see if the Umbrella Boy -- a nickname Rin came up with -- was there.

Instead, he continued walking to the library.

**x X x**

While Sousuke tapped away on the keyboard of his laptop, he found himself pausing and unpausing every now and then. He was distracted, unfocused, and most of all, annoyed. Where he knew he was always calm and collected, he knew he was now unraveling at the mere thought of that stupid boy with the umbrella. Sighing, Sousuke moved the mouse to click open the Skype app. As soon as the app opened, he looked through his friends list to see who was online.

 **Distraught Duck**  
Offline

 **Haru**  
Offline

 **N a g i s a (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**  
Online

 **Otter Boy Wonder**  
Online

 **R. Matsuoka**  
Offline

His shoulder slumped at his options of people to talk to. Nagisa, a classmate, had insisted on exchanging Skype usernames after they worked together on a project the previous semester. They hadn’t talked much but Nagisa would send pictures of various aquatic animals or a message bringing up a random topic. Sousuke forgot to click on the links or answer most of the time.

Momotarou, on the other hand, was a closer friend to him. They were friends in high school; and though Momo was younger and much more hyperactive, Sousuke never saw him as a real problem. Having to choose between Momotarou or Nagisa… It wasn’t a hard choice at all.

 **Sousuke  
** How do you distract yourself when you don’t want to think of something?

 **Otter Boy Wonder**  
huh?  
i usually listen to music or play a game  
sometimes i go talk to someone  
you could try annoying someone thats always fun  
why do you need to distract yourself sousuke senpai?

“Tsk. So nosey…”

 **Sousuke  
** I’ve just been thinking too much. That’s all.

 **Otter Boy Wonder**  
not acceptable!  
you never message me first  
so obviously something is wrong

 **Sousuke**  
I have work to do. Bye.

He click the sign out button just as Momo began typing again. Maybe listening to music really would help. Sousuke grabbed his headphones from his bookbag on the table and plugged them into his laptop. He went to Youtube and clicked the first suggested lyric video to begin listening to something as soon as possible. The music was very loud, causing him to flinch, but it was perfect and attention grabbing while not being distracting.

Sousuke clicked back to the Google search page and scrolled through the list of websites. Ready to click one that he felt would serve him right, he paused as he felt a tap on his shoulder. Blinking, Sousuke took out his earbuds and looked in the direction of where the poke came from.

“Excuse me. I’m sorry but do you mind lowering your music? It’s very distracting and I’m trying to read.” A guy with blue hair and red glasses said.

“Oh, sorry. Yeah, no problem.”

He put his earbuds back on and lowered the volume of his laptop. Only getting so far as to clicking the link, he felt another tap on his shoulder. He glanced to the side and saw it was the same guy looking at him.

Taking out an earbud, he said, “Yeah?”

“By any chance, is that an OLDCODEX song?”

He clicked back to the Youtube tab and raised his eyebrows. “Yes, actually.”

“Ah ha… Dried Up Youthful Fame?”

“Yep.”

“Thought it was familiar. A friend of mine has been singing that song for the past week.” The guy said, a small chuckle escaping his throat. “Well, I’ll leave you alone now. Sorry to interrupt your work.”

“It’s fine.”

**x X x**

 

 **R. Matsuoka**  
Any luck with umbrella boy?

 **Sousuke**  
No.  
I’ve been staying away from the cafe.

 **R. Matsuoka**  
What? Why?  
You do know he could literally be anywhere, right?  
I bet he’s even in one of your classes.

 **Sousuke**  
I’m not going to let myself get caught up in worry about a stranger with a bright umbrella.

 **R. Matsuoka**  
Bullshit.  
Look, I have to go.  
Don’t you fucking give up though.

 **Sousuke**  
Stop being a romantic, Rin.  
Later.

 **R. Matsuoka**  
This isn’t over!

He saw the green and white checkmark become blank and closed his laptop. Sousuke was now back in his dorm room. The black-haired male stretched and heard his stomach growl. A quick look to his watch told him it was early evening.

“Guess I’ll go get dinner.” Sousuke looked over his shoulder to his roommate. “Makoto, I’m going to get dinner. Wanna come?”

“Nah, I ate with Nagisa earlier. Bring me back a soda, though?”

“Will do.”

Sousuke got up from his seat. He grabbed his room key and wallet from the desk before walking out the room. The walk from the dormitory to the cafeteria wasn’t very far and he was there in no time. Sousuke looked through the selection of premade meals before moving on to the serve-yourself section. He grabbed a tray and went to grab a plate when his hand collided with someone else’s

“Sorry.” He said, eyes looking up at the person.

“It’s fin-- Oh. We meet again.” The person said, using his hand to fix those bright red frames of his.

“I guess so.” Sousuke responded casually, reaching for the plate after the other grabbed his own. Unsure what to say, he moved on to serving himself. The other male did the same thing and they both stood silent in the presence of one another.

Making his way to one of the tables after paying, Sousuke sat down. He picked up his chopsticks and was ready to begin eating when he saw from the corner of his eye that the blue-haired male sat down only seats away from himself. He tried to ignore it, but the self-induced tension caused him to give in.

He picked up his tray and walked over to the other table.

“Mind if I sit with you?”

“Hm?” The other looked up. “Oh. Sure. I don’t mind at all.”

He placed the tray down and pulled out the seat before sitting down. “Thanks. ...By the way, the name’s Sousuke.”

“Rei. Pleased to meet you.” He smiled.

“Likewise.”

The two began eating, only remaining silent for a short moment before Sousuke spoke again.

“I haven’t seen you around here much until recently.”

“The beginning of the semester was a busy time for me. Plus, I’m not a resident. But I have been staying on campus later than usual the past few days.”

“That would make sense.”

Rei opened his mouth before he heard a loud crash come from the serving station. He looked over in it’s direction and saw brunet with an undercut lower himself to the floor to pick up the mess of trays and plates. Another girl with lighter hair came by to help him.

“That’s the third time this week.” Rei commented before breaking off a piece of his food to eat.

“What do you mean?” Sousuke asked, looking away to look at Rei.

He took a few bites before swallowing and answering, “That guy has been knocking over the trays and plates for the past two days. And the same girl comes to help him.”

“He could be trying to get her attention.” He moved to eat a piece of his food now.

“Perhaps. That’s a terrible way to do it, though.”

“If you were getting someone’s attention, what would you do?”

Rei blinked, looking off to the side as he thought. “...I would just try to talk to the person, I suppose. Get to know them.”

“Reasonable.”

They continued to eat and chatted as they did so. Even after they were finished with their dinner, Sousuke and Rei continued to talk. It wasn’t until Rei checked the time that he said he had to leave. They cleaned up after themselves and parted ways after walking out of the cafeteria.

“Did you get my soda?” Makoto asked when Sousuke returned.

“What? Ah, no. I forgot.”

“It’s fine.” The brunet paused before tilting his head a little. “Did something happen while you went to eat?”

“Hm? Not really. I just met someone new.”

“Is that so? Well that’s nice!” Makoto smiled.

“Mhm… It is.”

**x X x**

Sousuke walked up and down the aisles of the library’s bookshelves. He was trying to look for a book that Momotarou recommended to him, but he couldn’t even find the author’s name. Taking another look at the Kanji he wrote the author’s name in, he now wondered if he wrote it wrong. Sighing, he walked over to the next aisle and stopped in his tracks as he saw Rei reaching up to a shelf just at his reach.

The male was awkwardly trying to grab a book but couldn’t find a way to slip it out from the side. Rei sighed and dropped his arm. He was ready to go look for a librarian but turned and saw Sousuke looking at him.

“Oh. Sousuke-kun. Hello.”

“No need for the ‘-kun’. Hey. Do you need help?” He asked, walking over to him.

“I do. I can’t reach the novel up there.”

Without saying anything, Sousuke reached up and slid his fingers along the spines of the books. “Which one?”

As his fingers landed upon a particular book, Rei said, “That one.”

He moved to hook his finger at the top of the book and pulled it free from its slot. Grabbing the book, Sousuke brought it down and looked at the title before handing it to Rei. “I was actually looking for this book.” He commented before extending it to the bespectacled male.

“Were you? Then by all means, you can take it.”

“No, it’s fine. I can wait to read it.”

Rei took the book, a frown tugging at the corner of his lips. “Are you sure?”

“Of course. Well, that’s all I was looking for. I’ll see you later.”

“Take care.”

Sousuke walked away, heading to the exit of the library. However, when he walked out, he was stopped by the scene of rain falling before him. Pressing his lips in discontent, he stood against the wall to shelter himself under the pillar-supported roof. He waited for a moment and was ready to walk when he suddenly saw someone walk out and into the rain with an umbrella.

At first, he paid the person no attention. But his eyes widened once he realized the colors of the umbrella. Bright blue and purple. Without another thought, Sousuke sprinted out into the rain and after the person. He quickly tapped the shoulder and stood as the person turned in place.

“Yes?”

“Rei?”

“Sousuke? I thought you left. Ah-- Wait!” Rei quickly held the umbrella over Sousuke and inched closer. “You shouldn’t be out in this rain without an umbrella!”

“It was your umbrella?!”

“What are you talking about?”

“This whole time it’s been you?!”

“May you please explain what’s going on?”

Lifting a hand to rake his fingers through his wet locks, he shook his head. “I can’t believe it.”

“I’m very confused right no--”

“How would you feel if I said I’ve been unintentionally thinking about you for around two or three weeks?”

Rei’s eyes widened. He blinked, unsure how to answer right away. “...I would be even more confused than I am now considering we have only known each other for a week.”

“A while back. Did you try talking to someone at the campus cafe? And he ignored you?”

The other stared blankly, trying to remember if he did such a thing. Just when he was about to say he didn’t remember, the memory came back to him. “Yes, actually. There were no seats left in the cafe and I wanted to ask him if I may sit for the time being. However, he was busy with his phone and someone left, so I just walked away.”

“That was me.”

“That was you?”

“I was the one who ignored you.”

“Someone would not willingly admit to that…”

“Sorry.” Sousuke rubbed the back of his neck. “Should we get out of the rain? There’s something else I want to say.”

“Is that so? Let’s go to the cafe then.”

Sousuke nodded and the two made their way to the cafe. All the while, there was a hint of an awkward atmosphere around them. They walked in and looked for a place to sit before seating themselves. Rei placed his umbrella and bag on the floor and Sousuke wiped his wet hand on his jeans.

“You said there was something you wanted to tell me?”

“Right. There is. Well, I just wanted to be honest and confess that I’ve been thinking about you a lot. Both… as the ‘umbrella boy’ and as yourself.” Sousuke said but then realized how he phrased it. Eyes widening, he quickly added, “Don’t take it the wrong way, though! I meant that you have just been distracting. I mean, you’re interesting. Wait, not--”

Rei laughed. “Sousuke, calm down. I understand what you mean. If I had to be honest, it’s been the same for me. Both as the ‘phone boy’ and yourself.” He said, the last sentence spoken in a tone to mock Sousuke’s. “There’s nothing wrong with thinking about a person. It just means a connection has been made.”

“It’s still weird to actually admit it to the person, though.”

“Yes. I do agree with that.”

Silence blanketed over the two. They both took turns with looking to the side or playing with their fingers -- anything to keep their attention in place of the situation. Sousuke was the first one to speak again after a moment.

“So. Now that I know you’re the one with that umbrella… I have to ask you this. Why did you get one so bright?”

“It’s kind of a long story.” Rei responded, adjusting his glasses.

“I have time.”

Rei gave Sousuke a look and Sousuke smirked in return.

“Well, back in high school…”

 


End file.
